2. Topics of discussion
• The Cause
• The Cold War
• Rockets & Satellites
• The Arms Race
• The Space Race
• The Outcome
3. Questions and Answers
What was the Space Race?
• Exploration and an adventure.
• Political event of scientific and technological
challenge
• International competition of prestige and
power
• Race launched satellites, probes, and aircrafts.
5. Questions and Answers
Why did it start?
• Cold war competitors raced to space to in
effort to acquire international prestige.
• win loyalty around the world.
• Gain military control of outer space.
• Demonstrate the superiority of the political-
economic system.
6. Questions and Answers
Who was involved?
• The two Superpowers after WW2.
• Pace Setters of the race.
• Other nations such as France joined the race
not to win, but to place.
8. The Cold War
What is a Cold War?
• By definition a cold war is a conflict short of combat.
• Through the cold war each superpower tried to
demonstrate the superiority of their political and
economic systems by showing how their science and
technologies was superior and advanced than the
others.
• The East and West fought with words of terror:
atomic bombs, nuclear war, mutually assured
destruction
10. The Cold War
Suspicions
• WW2 end with German invasion in June 1941. Western allies
entered Germany from the west and the Soviet Union from
the east. This was a collaborated effort.
• Stalin suspicion believed that the British and the Americans
had conspired to allow the Soviets to bear the brunt of the
fighting against Nazi Germany in order to step in at the last
moment and shape the peace settlement.
• Soviet perceptions of the West created their hostility towards
the Allied powers.
11. The Cold War
Conflicting Ideologies
• Joseph Stalin consolidated territorial gains (war winnings) and
started to spread communism. Advocated communism world
domination.
• Organized the Communist Information Bureau (CONIFORM) to
encourage communism
• KGB was created and used for Intel.
12. The Cold War
Conflicting Ideologies
• Harry S. Truman wanted to preserve capitalism.
• Truman Doctrine was formed for the free people.
• Idea of containment was initiated
• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was
created.
13. The Cold War
Cold War lead into a Space Race as a Arms Race.
• As Soviets adjusted to peace in central Europe and
spreading communism, United States was still
fighting in the Pacific.
• The dropping of the atomic bomb in Japan
demonstrated the power of this new weapon and in
part a warning to Stalin.
• United States lead the Arms Race by having 34
nuclear explosions, followed by the Soviet Union
which had 3, and the United Kingdom that had 1.
14. Rockets, Missiles, and Satellites
• Rocket – a cylindrical projectile that can be propelled
to a great height or distance by the combustion of its
contents
• Missile – 1) A object that is forcibly propelled at a
target, by hand or mechanically. 2) A self – propelled or
remote – controlled weapon that carries a
conventional or nuclear explosive. A ballistic missile is
like a bullet and it is a gravity defined trajectory.
• Satellite – A natural or artificial object that orbit
another object. (moon satellites the earth, the earth
satellites the sun).
16. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
(1857-1935)
o A Russian school teacher, developed the basic
theory of rocket propulsion.
o Developed a series of sophisticated wind
tunnels, late 1890s
o Analysis of rocket behavior under zero
gravity
o Studied the stratosphere
o Solved the problem of landing on planets
lacking atmospheres
o Founded the theory of interplanetary
navigation
o Showed the possibility of reaching orbital
velocities and interplanetary flight
o Studied the problems with Earth’s artificial
satellites
o Studied medical and biological issues with
long term space flight
17. Robert Hutchings Goddard
(1882-1945)
o Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Clark
University,1908
Graduate Studies
Received his Doctorate
Taught physics
Conducted rocketry experiments
o 1914, two U.S. patents for liquid fueled rocket
engines
o Experimented with various nozzle designs
o Experiments showed that rockets could work in
a vacuum
o Designs were very primitive yet set the path for
future liquid fueled rocket success
o Launched the world’s first successful rocket on
March 16, 1926 in Massachusetts
18. Hermann Oberth
(1884-1989)
o Pursued studies in Astronautics
o Conducted experiments to simulate
weightlessness
o Worked out a design for a long-range liquid
fueled rocket
o Published:
The Rocket into Interplanetary Space,
1923
mathematically explained how a rocket
could escape Earth’s gravitational pull
using stages
Ways to Space Flight, 1929
described the development of electric and
ion propulsion
o Liquid-propellant rocket, patent in 1931 from
the Romanian Patent Office
o His assistant was Werner von Braun
19. Wernher von Braun
World War 2
• German rocket scientist, designed V-2
rockets.
• V-2 rockets carried warheads (missiles)
against enemy targets.
• Worked on 140 different missiles including
cruise missiles and radio controlled missiles.
• Several V-2 rockets and documents were
lost to the United States, the production
plant at Peenemunde went to the Soviets,
and the remaining legacy of the V-2 went to
France and Great Britain.
20. The Rocket Program
• Soviets were familiar with rockets and
used rocket-artillery units on the Eastern
Front.
• Reopened Peenemnde as a rocket test
center and assigned East German
scientists, engineers, and factory workers
to work on rockets and missiles.
• Their rocket program was lead by Sergei
Korolov and they improved on the already
advanced German V-2 rocket missiles.
• 5 years after WW2, they had nuclear
bombs, ballistic and long range missiles,
while developing powerful rockets - a
high threat to the United States.
In August 1957 they launched the world’s
first intercontinental ballistic missile. A
news agency reported that “no part of
the earth is too far away: strategic air
forces are obsolete.”
• Rocket and missile programs were
military sponsored.
• Missile ranges for testing were built in
New Mexico, California and Florida.
• The Air force established a program
called Project Paperclip whereby
German scientist and engineers could
come to the U.S to live and work on
improvements for the V-2 rocket. This
team had 82 members including
Werner Von Braun.
Ultimately, the military relied upon
bombers to deliver their conventional
and nuclear weapons and thus had a
under developed rocket program in
comparison to the Soviets.
22. Soviet Union Leads the RaceThem Bitches
The Sputnik 1 Satellite
– October 4, 1957
• Soviet Union launches the first man-
made satellite into space.
• Begins the Space Race
• 184 pounds
• Orbits Earth every 96 minutes and
transmitted radio signals for 21 days.
• Important propaganda victory for the
Soviet Union and their leader, Nikita
Krushchev.
• Many Americans viewed the Sputnik as
a symbol for delivering nuclear
weapons.
23. Sputnik 2: First Crew in Space
• Launched November 3, 1957
• several compartments for
radio transmitters, a
programming unit, a
temperature control system
for the cabin, and several
scientific instruments
• 1 person crew - Dog named
Laika. (FYI, he’s still out there)
24. American Pride
The achievements of the Soviets were blows to
American national pride and raised questions
about its presumed supremacy in science. The
American space program developed rapidly after
the Sputnik launch and transformed the National
Advisory Committee on Aeronautics into the civil
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Aviation was now aerospace and the race was to
see who’s achievements went out furthest.
25. John F. Kennedy
• John F. Kennedy was the President
of the United States at the time of
the Space Race and was very
involved with it.
• "I believe that this nation should
commit itself to achieving the
goal, before this decade is out, of
landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to the
Earth….We have a long way to go
in the space race. We started late.
But this is the new ocean, and I
believe the United States must sail
on it and be in a position second
to none.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
oQOu0IAdgaA
30. Achievements
May 5, 1961
Astronaut Alan
Shepard in a
Mercury capsule
called Freedom 7
reached
suborbital space
and became the
first American in
space.
31. Achievements
June 16, 1963
Selected because of
her parachute
skills, Valentina
Vladimirovna
Tereshova in
Vostok 6 became
the first women in
space.
32. Achievements
June 3, 1965
Edward H. White
became the first
American to walk
in space, to
complete an
extravehicular
activity (EVA)
when he exited
Gemini 4.
34. Achievements
July 20, 1969
Neil Armstrong became
the first human to
set foot on another
celestial body. Apollo
11 fulfilled President
Kennedy’s Challenge
of landing a man on
the moon and
returning him safely
back to earth.
